- World’s two biggest economies attempting to defuse rare earth dispute ahead of APEC summit
WASHINGTON: China and the United States have agreed to hold another round of trade talks in the coming week, as the world’s two biggest economies move to avert a renewed tariff war.
Beijing last week imposed sweeping controls on the critical rare earths industry, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten 100 percent tariffs on Chinese imports in retaliation. Trump had also warned he might cancel his expected meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this month in South Korea.
Chinese state media reported that Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges” during a Saturday call, agreeing to meet “as soon as possible.”
On social media, Bessent described the discussion as “frank and detailed,” adding that they would meet “in-person next week to continue our discussions.” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also joined the call, according to Xinhua.
Bessent had earlier accused Beijing of seeking to “harm the rest of the world” through tighter export restrictions on rare earths—metals vital to everything from smartphones to guided missiles.
Hours before the call, Fox News aired excerpts of an interview in which Trump confirmed he would meet Xi at APEC after all, acknowledging that his proposed 100 percent tariff was “not sustainable.” “It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is… They forced me to do that,” he said.
The high-level contact came as Washington rallied Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers to respond to Beijing’s export curbs. EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in Washington that the ministers had agreed to coordinate a short-term response and diversify suppliers—an effort likely to take years given China’s dominance of global rare earth supplies.
“We agreed, both bilaterally with the US and at the G7 level, to coordinate our approach,” he said on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank fall meetings.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil voiced hope that the Trump-Xi meeting could defuse much of the trade conflict. “We have made it clear within the G7 that we do not agree with China’s approach,” he said, referring to the group that includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva likewise expressed optimism for an agreement to “cool tensions.”
The US-China trade war flared anew this year after Trump returned to office promising sweeping tariffs. At one point, duties on both sides climbed to triple-digit levels, stalling trade as firms awaited clarity. While both countries have since eased levies, their truce remains fragile.
